Sairam Friends..... Shri.B.Aravind, alumni of SSSIHL and now working in Radio Sai, Prasanthi Nilayam writes ...Visualizing and materializing the Lord... " In the 1980s, Swami taught the students a way of manifesting Him even when He was physically absent!
The Prasanthi Nilayam mandir of the 1980s Source: radiosai.org One of those lucky students shared it with me and I felt it is like manna for all of us... I also recollected a very similar experience that He granted me too.... With great joy, I share this... In course of an email conversation, my Chemistry teacher, Dr.K.Anil Kumar (not to be confused with Swami’s translator) shared his experience. It is actually to him that Swami gave the technique. Thus, it is with great joy that I present his experience which is His present to me. The setting: Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi in the summer of 1981 (or maybe 1982) The situation: Swami is residing in the room above the interview room in the Prasanthi Mandir itself. Darshan is at about 6:30-7:00 am while bhajans are from 11:00am to 11:30am. Evening bhajans are from 5:30pm to 6:00pm. It is the summer vacations and, so, there are very few students. Some students have arrived from the Brindavan campus and Anil Kumar is one among those students. Inaugurating the Sathya Sai Institute of higher Learning. How Swami looked in the 1980s - the settings of this episode. Source: www.sssihl.edu The prelude to the experience: The evening session has just concluded. Swami has moved into the interview room where He will have His a few morsels which He calls ‘dinner’! The students, like everyday, decide to wait till He retires to His room above. Who knows, they may be lucky enough to catch another glimpse of Him. It was a chance that was not to be allowed to slip for, after all, it was only the students who had the permission and opportunity to wait thus. It turns out to be a very memorable day for the students who decide to wait that day. The interview room door opens and out walks Swami. His presence is so powerful with His huge mop of hair and flowing robe. There is complete silence till Swami looks at all the students and beckons them to go into the interview room. The silence is shattered by the thundering of footfalls as all the students rush towards the interview room like iron filings towards a powerful magnet. The ‘magnet’ is the last to move into the interview room. It is a small room, about 6 feet by 11 feet in size and yet it seems to have a magical capacity to accommodate all those that need to be inside! Once Swami is inside, the room is filled with laughter and merry talk as He starts pulling legs and cracking jokes. Soon, everyone is in a very happy and light mood. The situation is set for sowing some seeds of wisdom. Swami begins to speak on how bhajans should be sung, The cow cleans the calf with its tongue after giving birth... Source: internet “Whenever the name of the Lord is sung, dwell on the meaning of the name. The name of the Lord is as powerful as His form. While singing bhajans, the head, the heart and the hands must be involved. For instance, take the name - Gopala (one who tends and takes care of the cow - Krishna). The cow, after giving birth to a calf, licks it clean. If a “Go” (cow) can have such love, imagine the love embodied by ‘Gopala’. Feel this love as you sing about Gopala. Picture your God and pour out your feelings. They will reach Him.” The session comes to a close too soon. (Any session with Swami seems to come to an end too soon!) Anil Kumar is inspired by what Swami has said and decides to implement it with immediate effect. He starts practicing to feel intensely during bhajans, visualizing Swami on a regular basis. The experience: One of the days, Swami goes out for a drive to supervise a construction site during the bhajans. Anil Kumar sang the bhajans with visualization which had now become his regular practice. He pictures Swami standing in front of Him and gently swaying to the tune of the bhajan. IN his mind’s eye, he sees the trees gently swaying in the breeze and the birds merrily chirping. The orange of Swami’s robe seems to blend in with the orange of the skies as the sun is setting. Swami’s presence fills his whole heart, and thus, his world too. Slowly, tears of joy begin to form and trickle down his cheek. He is lost in the beauty of darshan and he realizes the meaning of what Swami had said a few days before. Though Swami is not in the mandir, he is not missing Him. And the beautiful experience continues. One bhajan later, he suddenly feels a hush all around. And his beautiful meditation seems to get disturbed. It is almost as if someone by his side is tapping gently to call him. Leaving aside the beautiful image of the swaying Swami, he opens his eyes to determine the source of ‘disturbance’. As he opens his eyes, he is in for a blissful surprise. The mental image of Swami, instead of disappearing, gets reinforced as Swami is there, right in front of him! And He is swaying gently, EXACTLY as he is picturing Him. Swami’s face is glowing in joy and a gentle smile is dancing on His lips. As Anil Kumar gazes longingly at the form that is the object of his adoration and love, Swami walks up to him. He smiles at him and says, “Inside Swami - outside Swami are ONE.” Then He walks away. I was so thrilled reading this. It was such a beautiful blessing from Swami because I wanted to share a very similar experience. This narrative was a bolster for me. This experience is based in 2001-2002 in Brindavan, Whitefield (Bangalore) Source: aravindb1982 --
